DANVILLE, Ill. – The Parkland College men's basketball team advanced to the NJCAA DII National Quarterfinals with a 64-60 win over St. Clair County Community College on Tuesday, March 19th, in the second round of the NJCAA DII National Tournament. The No. 7 seed Cobras (29-4) held onto a late lead with clutch free-throw shooting, going 8-8 from the free-throw line in the second half to survive a late push from the No. 10 seed Skippers (25-7). Parkland sophomore Jabryn Anderson led all scorers with a 23-point, 11-rebound double-double in the win, his first of the season.
 
"Jabryn is a monster. He's been great for us all year," Bowler said of his Region 24 Player of the Year. "He was locked in from the start, and he sparked us on that first run to get us rolling, and he's so important for us being a two-way guy… I just can't speak more highly about what he's done."

"I like the fact that we grinded it out," Bowler said after the win. "It wasn't necessarily our traditional game. It was really physical, which we were used to. A lot of teams in our conference have been. I think the Region really prepared us for it. We were able to fight. We knew they were a good offensive team, and we felt like if we could really guard, we could pull it out."
 
The Cobras struggled from the field early while the Skippers started strong from behind the arc, building a 12-2 lead with 14:38 to go in the first half when Parkland called its first timeout. Parkland trailed 20-10 midway through the half before a 17-2 run spanning 5:13 gave the Cobras a 27-22 lead, forcing a St. Clair County timeout with 4:27 left in the half. The Skippers slowed the run before the half, but the Cobras went into halftime with momentum and a 35-28 lead. Both offenses opened the second half slow, and Parkland held a 42-40 lead at the first media timeout with 13:26 on the clock. St. Clair County CC exploded for a 10-0 run of the timeout, taking a 45-42 lead on a three with 12:30 to go, but Parkland provided an answer when freshman JaMonte Williams knocked down back-to-back triples to retake a 50-48 lead with 9:20 remaining. The Skippers battled back as the two teams traded the lead with just under five minutes left, and the Cobras led 60-56 after two Jabryn Anderson free throws with 1:53 on the clock. St. Clair County cut the deficit to two points with under a minute remaining but could not get a shot to go – and Parkland pulled down a crucial rebound in the final seconds to close out the 64-60 win.

"We played six or seven of the teams in the tournament either in Jamborees or during the season, so I think testing ourselves from a scheduling standpoint really helped," Bowler said of his team's preparation. "Playing those close games away from home against tough competition really prepared us for tonight."
 
When asked what the message to the team is as they continue their tournament run, Bowler responded, "Continue to be us. We got ourselves here playing our game, so continue to be us."
 
Scoring Summary:
Jabryn Anderson: 23 points, 11 rebounds
JaMonte Williams: 12 points, 9 rebounds
Brylan Phillips: 11 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals
Grant Coleman: 9 points, 3 rebounds
Drew Lewis Jr.: 7 points, 5 rebounds
 
Up Next, Parkland matches up against No. 2 seed South Suburban College on Thursday, March 21st, in the NJCAA DII National Quarterfinals. Tip-off versus the Bulldogs (32-2) is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the Mary Miller Gymnasium in Danville, Illinois.